Dec 31, 2009

Body of Evidence | Characters

As the second book in a projected series, Body of Evidence elaborates and enhances the portrayals of the main recurring characters: Scarpetta, Marino, and Wesley. Yet the chief development in Cornwell's characterization is her treatment of the two key supporting players: the victim Beryl Madison and her killer Frank Ethan Aims. They serve as framing devices: The book opens with Beryl's revelatory letters, pathetically written only to herself, and closes with Marino and Scarpetta's recreation of Aims's criminal history. In the book's first half, the investigative team seeks all the...